Trump Now Says He Reimbursed Lawyer For Stormy Daniels Payment

Written by Colin Leggett

Chosen for you by

On the morning of May 3rd, President Trump issued a series of tweets clarifying remarks made by his newly hired lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, regarding a payment of $130,000 made to adult film star Stormy Daniels by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. Giuliani revealed the information that Trump had reimbursed the payment to Cohen in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Giuliani told Sean Hannity during his May 2nd interview that in regards to Trump “paying some Stormy Daniels woman one hundred and thirty thousand,” the arrangement “is going to turn out to be perfectly legal. That money was not campaign money. Sorry, I’m giving you a fact now that you don’t know. It’s not campaign money. No campaign finance violation.” Hannity then questioned whether the payment was funneled through Cohen’s law firm. Giuliani replied, “Funneled through the law firm, and then the president repaid it.”

This revelation from Giuliani, who only recently joined Trump’s legal team in the wake of Robert Meuller’s investigation, directly contradicts an answer given to the press from President Trump aboard Air Force One on April 5th. When questioned by a reporter on board whether he knew about the payment, President Trump simply responded “No.” The same reporter followed up, asking “Then why did Michael Cohen make [the payment], if there was no truth to her allegations?” Trump then responded saying “You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael’s my attorney, and you’ll have to ask Michael.” Yet another reporter asked Trump, “Do you know where he got the money to make that payment?” To which the president responded, “No. I don’t know.” Trump ignored a final question from a reporter asking if he had set up a fund for Cohen to pull funds from.

The series of tweets sent out by President Trump on May 3rd attempted to clear up the discrepancy between the president’s statements and those made by Rudy Giuliani on Fox News. Trump claimed in his tweets that Cohen “received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA.” He continued to say that these agreements were “very common among celebrities and people of wealth.”

On May 4th, President Trump tried to clarify Giuliani’s remarks to reporters outside the White House. “Rudy is a great guy but he just started a day ago,” Trump said, although according to a report in Vanity Fair, Giuliani actually started two weeks ago. “He’ll get his facts straight.” Rudy Giuliani then released a three-point statement the same day. While the third point in the statement regarded the firing of James Comey, it was the first and second points that most directly addressed the Stormy Daniels payment. “First: There is no campaign violation. The payment was made to resolve a personal and false allegation to protect the President’s family. It would have been done in any event, whether he was a candidate or not,” the statement read. The second point reads: “My references to timing were not describing my understanding of the President’s knowledge, but instead, my understanding of these matters.” This appeared to be Giuliani’s attempt at shifting the burden of knowledge from the president to himself.

Following the release of the statement, however, Rudy Giuliani continued to appear in televised interviews over the weekend. The first was with Jeanine Pirro on Fox News on May 5th. Giuliani told Pirro: “The President of the United States did not violate campaign finance law,” when he repaid Cohen. Giuliani then added, “Even if it was a campaign donation, the President reimbursed it fully with the $35,000 a month…I’m an expert on campaign finance law…there’s no way this is a campaign finance violation…nor was it a loan.” On May 6th, Giuliani appeared on ABC’s This Week, where he was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos. When asked by Stephanopoulos if Trump had made similar payments to other women, Giuliani responded, “I’d have no knowledge of that, uh, but I would, I would, I would think if it were necessary, yes. [Cohen] made payments for the president, or he conducted business for the president. Which means he had legal fees, money laid out, and expenditures. Which I have on my bills to my clients.” Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing Stormy Daniels, appeared on the program after Giuliani, and called the interview “one of the worst TV appearances by any attorney on behalf of a client in modern times.” He added, “I think it is obvious, George, to the American people that this is a cover­-up, that they are making it up as they go along. They don’t know what to say because they have lost track of the truth.”

According to a report from the Associated Press, Trump has grown irritated by Giuliani’s continued media gaffes. Though he originally celebrated hiring “America’s [expletive] mayor” as legal counsel, according to one anonymous source, two other unnamed sources with access to the president told AP that Trump has considered barring Rudy Giuliani from any further interviews. President Trump has allegedly been angered by the fact that the Stormy Daniels story has been extended through Giuliani’s television appearances.

More From Providr

Related Posts

Quitting drugs or alcohol and overcoming addiction are some of the hardest things a person can do in their life. Addiction can ruin your relationships, send you into a downward spiral, and leave you in a bad place. However, some people are able to make it out. They pick themselves …

When you were younger, did your parents ever tell you to use your “indoor voice?” Not only is it respectful to others around you, but it can also prevent you from sharing personal, hilarious conversations with everyone around you as well. Usually, when someone overhears a hilarious conversation, the first …

Owning really bad clothes is almost a right of passage when you’re trying to define the type of style you’re looking for, but every so often you find clothes at the store or that people have purchased that are just really bad clothing fails. One time I went to a …

You’ve probably never thought about what it would take to sell a mirror online. Besides the obvious logistics that come along with putting it up for sale, like setting up a price and pick-up location, there’s is one extra thing that must be done. This last step seems like it …

Have you ever seen someone doing something questionable? I think we all have. You probably couldn’t count the number of weird things that happen in public on any given day. Sometimes you worry about these people, but most of the time you think “same” because life is hard and sometimes …

Penmanship is not just how you handle a pen and paper, taking down a couple of notes, and calling it a day. To many, it is an art form, a skill that is perhaps vanishing all together considering the almost sole use of computers during this day and age. Many …

Tony Award-winner Ruthie Ann Miles was struck by a car in an NYC accident that killed two children after the vehicle allegedly ran a red light. Miles, who goes by “Ruthie Ann Blumenstein” offstage, was crossing Ninth Street at Fifth Avenue when the driver of a white Volvo allegedly “failed …

Stephen Hawking (January 8, 1942, to March 14th, 2018) was a British scientist, professor, and celebrated theorist whose groundbreaking work helped shape public understanding of cosmology and quantum mechanics. During his years on Earth, Hawking warned us about the consequences of our irresponsible treatment of our planet and offered plenty …

The LGBT community faced a proud moment when, instead of street taunts, it turned out to be an enlightening and encouraging encounter. Theodore Vidal and Colin Beyers were one of many couples walking down the boardwalk following their first prom in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. This strip is typically known …

What can you do when you see a hungry possum stealing cat food? If you’re the cat in question, not much really, except for the appeal to your owner and try to get some help. Imgur user MrRogers247 captured his cat’s reaction to a possum digging in on her kibbles …

A high school in Hangzhou, China has recently been under the spotlight for using facial recognition technology in the classroom. The system scans each student’s face to determine their emotions and actions every 30 seconds. The high school, Hangzhou No. 11 High School, scans and records the students’ facial expressions …

According to WebMD, the sales for nail polish have reached nearly $800 million a year in the United States. But women don’t want to spend money on polish that will chip and fade away in just a few days. So now they have the option of gel polishes that offer …

Prince Charles recently celebrated his birthday turning 70 years old, which happened in the wake of the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and the new Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle. The Duke and Duchess made their first royal appearance as a married couple for Prince Harry’s father’s birthday celebrations. The …

Brooke Gould is a 27-year-old woman who feels judged every single day. When people hear that she’s unemployed, the first thought that comes to mind is that she’s lazy and simply doesn’t want to work. On the contrary, she wants to work more than anything but it’s her mind that …

The forward-thinking fashion company CARMAR is described by their website as “a premium denim brand catered to the free-spirited generation of today.” However, one look at one of their newest denim releases might leave you scratching your head. Dubbed the “EXTREME CUT OUT JEAN”, with a whopping $168.00 USD price tag, …

Dave Grohl took time out of the Foo Fighters world tour on May 12 to headline a benefit concert for the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. And he was accompanied by some special guests for some of his songs. The benefit concert for the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital consisted of Grohl performing …

Finding someone you are compatible with takes some people years. In fact, some of us are even lucky enough to find it. It takes patience to find that special someone who is perfect for you. Well, actor Nico Tortorella from the hit show Younger has found his perfect match. Nico …

Kim Kardashian finally blessed the internet with a picture of her and newborn daughter, Chicago West. The long-awaited photo included mom and baby with a cute Snapchat filter. Although the filter makes it difficult to say which one of her famous parents Chicago takes after, one thing is clear: she’s …

A transgender woman knew she was born in the wrong body from a very young age. Erin Anderson, 22, approached her now-boyfriend Jared Norris, 28, after messaging him on Facebook according to Caters News Agency. Initially, according to Erin, Jared rejected her when she was living as a man named …

We all like instant noodles. Some of us love it a little more than we should. But can you really blame them? They’re SO easy to make, it goes with just about anything and it’s ready in literally five minutes. You know it’s not that good for you, you know …

We have all experienced that ‘this is fine’ feeling before we left the house. Then we come back to realize none of what we thought was fine was actually fine. Or we left the house thinking that what we were wearing was fine, but once we are out and we …

So you’re considering getting a tattoo, are you? Maybe you think that you’d like to emblazon yourself with something meaningful: the name of a loved one, or maybe some song lyrics. Here’s one piece of advice if you’re dead set on getting inked: it’s very easy to be tricked by …

Sam Ballard, once a promising young Australian rugby player, was tragically left paralyzed after he swallowed a common garden slug on a dare. Unbeknownst to Ballard, the slug was infected with rat lungworm, a disease that can be contracted by humans. Ballard is now a quadriplegic and requires constant medical …

“And remember, it’s okay that you don’t exist” Why are you even here? This congregation of low-tier… well, things. There’s really no better way to describe them, because they don’t exist. Or, at least in the eyes of the public your fellow group members are non-existent. The only reason they’re …

Winston Howes was 53 years-old when he lost his wife of 33 years, Janet Howes, to heart failure in 1995. It was back in 1962 when Janet and Winston got married and moved to a farmhouse in nearby Stroud, a market town in South Gloucestershire, England. A few years later, the …

New Orleans, also known as the “Big Easy,” has become the victim of a practical joke done by James L. Sutter, a 34-year-old game designer and author. About a week ago, Sutter, who is best known for co-creating the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, an expansion to Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition, …

Humans have made some pretty terrible design decisions during their time here on planet Earth. Many of them have stuck around forever, while some of them have faded away into obscurity. However, despite our best efforts, and the continuing advancement of technology, we are still making terrible design decisions. When …

In a 2015 National Geographic expedition, scientists found sharks living inside one of the most active underwater volcanoes on Earth. The team, led by Ocean engineer Brennan Philips traveled to the remote Solomon Islands in search of hydrothermal activity. At the time of their expedition, the main peak of the …

Everybody has those funny grandma stories that they love to tell. Sure, there are a lot of stories about grandmas that are kind, heartwarming, and full of sage wisdom, but there are also the ones about grandmas being totally hilarious and awesome because grandmas are the best. Sometimes it’s a …

There’s a lot of good people that exist in this world. You don’t have to know someone personally to do something that is exceptionally kind. This story is surely one that will help you realize that with all the hardships that are going on in this world, there is still …

Australian cosplayer Nichameleon (as she is known on Instagram) is known for her stunning transformations into iconic characters from film, television, and video games. The Australian cosplayer is known to dress up as people and monsters from popular culture, showing off her skills on her Instagram page and at various …

It may be April, which means we’re all expecting spring to bloom, but it might not be time to put away the hats, gloves, and boots yet. Weather services are predicting a wave of record-setting cold weather to blow through the United States, which means snow in April. This is …

To any Avengers fans who went out to see Infinity War this weekend all I can say is: Wow. If you’ve seen the film then you’ll understand my lack of words. The most recent addition to the Avengers franchise, Infinity War, posted a higher weekend debut than any movie in …

Humans, as well as other animals, have been ‘programmed’ to want to procreate. The goal of most biological organisms is to pass on their genetic information. And as such, humans have been bred to look for the best and most compatible partners. Now, sex is something that is usually intimate …

The royal wedding of Duke Harry and Duchess Meghan was a joyous occasion celebrated around the world. Despite the event’s cheerful atmosphere, there was one somber theme brought up throughout the day: the absence of late Princess Diana. She died as the result of a car accident in Paris in …

Losing weight and maintaining an active healthy lifestyle is no easy feat. Take it from me, my personal weight loss journey has been one struggle after another. This year I entered my first 5K marathon and I’m forcing myself to change my lifestyle into a healthier more active one. I’ve …

If you have kids, then you know that it can be difficult to know when the appropriate time to put them to bed is. Put your kids to bed too early and you risk them being hyper and never getting to sleep, put them to bed late and they’ll be …

A bond between a child and their mother is one of the most special bonds there is. We get to know them on a personal level and know their quirks. That being said, most moms have some of the same quirks that will always make us laugh. Whether this is …

We have all been in that time when we saw something and thought about flipping a table. We don’t mean flipping a table in a frustrated way, but in a shocked way. You did it because you were shocked at what you saw. If you want to have more of …

The animals gathered excitedly together. Apparently, the old boar Colonel had something to say. When Colonel had something to say, it was a big deal around the farm. Colonel was the wisest and oldest of the pigs, who were the smartest animals on the farm. Surely, this was going to …

Twins sure are something special, just ask Dane and Lisa Lyman. The couple shares two daughters together and one set of infant twins boys. Their twins, Weston and Caleb were barely a month old when a video of them went viral on the internet. Prepare yourself, it’s more adorable than …

Whether it’s for Halloween, Comic-Con, or a just theme party, it’s not always easy to come up with an original costume. Many people will stick to the basics or opt for a store-bought costume, but those who have their eye on that “best costume prize” know that you have to …

A police department in Michigan banded together with truck drivers to protect a man who was attempting to commit suicide. The plan they had laid out is something in which they had trained for, however, the number of trucks who responded was incredible. In the early hours of the morning …

It seems like something out of a Richie Rich cartoon, or like something only a few privileged people could enjoy, but one man who uploaded images to the popular image sharing website Imgur nicknamed “MakGyver87” showed us how we can all possibly have our own DIY backyard bowling alley all …

For nearly a century, cannabis has been demonized as a gateway drug. Granted, some of its side effects might include impairing certain cognitive skills, but there are also many positives to the plant. We are noticing this because of the recent legalization of this plant in many U.S. states. In …

Over the course of our lives, we’ve all had silly misfortunes occur within the shower curtains. From soap in your eyes to abrupt slips, for many, the shower has been a place for accidents waiting to happen. In what should be a space for relaxation and warmth, it has often …

Those scary monsters that hide in our closet or under our bed are something we’ve all had to deal with when we were younger. I mean, who knows, maybe they still haunt us as adults. But as kids, a lot of us remember being curled up in a ball, under …

Everybody should be able to enjoy cooking. It’s definitely a life skill that can become very useful throughout your life. Getting some cooking advice from people who do it all the time can certainly help. These cooking tips will give you a leg up in the kitchen, and help to …

When we come across a photo that we find hilarious we usually think that it must be fake. When it turns out that these hilarious photos are real we find them even funnier. If you are looking for a good laugh then you have come to the right place. Below …

When you hear the term alcohol, you automatically associate it with negative aspects. I can’t fault you for this since alcohol has been proven to have many adverse health effects on the human body. But what if I told you that new research has surfaced that would suggest that moderate …